P2P Drives Use of Packet Inspection Technology: Study

WebKnowHow
Thursday, September 7, 2006; 08:25 AM

The increasing strain that peer-to-peer (P2P) networking traffic is putting on broadband networks is creating a growing demand for products that can identify and weed out bandwidth-hogging P2P data through the use of deep packet inspection (DPI) technology, according to the latest report published by Light Reading Insider (www.lightreading.com/insider), a paid research service of Light Reading Inc. (www.lightreading.com).

"Deep Packet Inspection: Taming the P2P Traffic Beast" focuses exclusively on products that specifically provide or use real-time data and analysis of packet contents for stateful protocol identification, flow monitoring, application monitoring, session monitoring, policy enforcement, use and usage control, quality of service, security, traffic management, and similar functions. The 28-page report provides an overview of P2P's impact on data networks and details how DPI can be deployed to help minimize those effects.

The report presents a detailed comparison of product features and functions from key DPI vendors, including Allot Communications, Caspian Networks, Cisco Systems, Ellacoya Networks, Narus, and Sandvine. It also lists known customer wins for the vendors in this sector and catalogs the various technology partnerships each vendor has struck with suppliers of related hardware and software.

Worldwide, network operators spent $96.8 million on DPI in 2005, but the DPI sector is poised to grow by more than 75% this year, to about $170 million, and top $586 million in 2010, estimates James Crawshaw, Research Analyst for Light Reading Insider and author of the report.

"DPI has emerged as a key tool to combat bandwidth hogs and enable quality of service in broadband networks," Crawshaw notes. "Large service providers initially thought they could get around the problem of P2P by throwing more bandwidth at the problem, but P2P has become so pervasive that even the large operators are turning to DPI to combat P2P."

Crawshaw adds that interest in DPI as a P2P blocker grew first in Asia, but that European and North American operators are now making aggressive moves to deploy the technology. "The business case for DPI investment appears strong," he says. "Intelligent bandwidth management gives providers the ability to give priority to revenue-generating traffic when the network is heavily loaded, while allowing P2P applications such as BitTorrent to 'burst' when capacity is available, ensuring the satisfaction of all subscribers."

Other key findings of the report include:

• In the U.S., cable MSOs have been early adopters of DPI, but IPTV should be a catalyst for broader deployment by DSL operators
• Many operators that have deployed DPI are claiming that they can achieve payback in less than 12 months
• In addition to P2P mitigation, DPI could play a wider role in operators' service assurance and network security strategies
• Several European operators are using DPI to enable service tiering, rather than just to throttle broadband hogs

"Deep Packet Inspection: Taming the P2P Traffic Beast" is available as part of an annual single-user subscription (12 monthly issues) to Light Reading Insider, priced at $1,595. Individual reports are available for $900 (single-user license).

To subscribe, or for more information, visit: www.lightreading.com/insider. For more information about all of Light Reading's Insider research services, visit: www.lightreading.com/research.